The university plans to restore the exterior of the Art Deco building to its original condition and adapt the interior into a performance theatre and retail bookstore.

The theatre, a prominent part of the city’s downtown area, was built in 1935 and closed in 1983.

“Today marks the next step in the re-birth of this beautiful building with its addition to the campus of Georgia College & State University,” said Georgia College President Dorothy Leland. “Our plan is to not only bring the historic Campus Theatre to life again, but to reutilize its space in a way that plays a significant role in the continued redevelopment of downtown Milledgeville. When the project is completed, the façade, marquee, doorways, ticket booth and other features will all look exactly as they appeared in 1935 when the building was constructed."

The university acquired the theatre from longtime local resident Randall Hattaway following the approval of the purchase, which was granted earlier this month by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

According to President Leland, the project will restore and preserve the building’s exterior and readapt the interior to include space for the university’s theatre arts program. The interior will include a “black box” performance space designed to accommodate a variety of configurations, depending on the type of programs being presented.

The building also is slated to house a bookstore that features a variety of general selections in addition to textbooks, providing the downtown area with a valuable new retail venue. Under the plan, the useable interior space of the building will be expanded from the current 17,000 square feet to 21,000 square feet.

Work is expected to begin later this year, with an anticipated opening in the summer of 2009.

Mr. Hattaway, who currently maintains an accounting firm on the building’s second floor, will relocate his business within the next few months. Also relocating will be Milledgeville MainStreet, an economic development agency which is located in a first floor storefront. The theatre portion of the building is unoccupied.

The project design will be handled by The Christman Company of Lansing, Michigan, and the construction phase will be handled by Garbutt Construction Company of Dublin, Georgia. Both companies previously have worked with the university, including its award-winning, multi-million dollar restoration of the Old Governor’s Mansion on the Georgia College campus.

“We look forward to bringing the Campus Theatre back as the centerpiece of the downtown area,” President Leland said.